Drone-based, attacker neutralization

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are provided for responding to an attacker including a shooter who opens fire at a site where people are gathered, including identifying, neutralizing, and restraining the attacker. A system may include a central control unit configured to receive signals indicative of gun fire, to responsively determine an origin of the gun fire, to identify features of a shooter associated with the gun fire and to release a UAV from a shielded UAV housing to engage the shooter. The UAV may be configured to fly towards the shooter, according to the origin of the gun fire and the identifying features of the shooter, and to neutralize the shooter by operating a UAV incapacitating mechanism.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a National Phase of PCT Patent Application No.PCT/IL2020/050083 having International filing date of Jan. 22, 2020,which claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/795,204 filed Jan. 22, 2019 entitled “Drone-based, attackerneutralization.” The contents of the above applications are allincorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein in theirentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention generally relates to methods of defense against physicalattacks, in particular defense against shooting attacks by unmannedaerial vehicles.

BACKGROUND

Mass shootings are a horrifying but common problem of modern society.Over the past few years, shootings have occurred around the world, inschools, restaurants, hotels, airports, and other locations. In manyoccasions, the response time of law enforcement personnel to shootingattacks has not been timely enough in order to stop the shooters earlyand save lives.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide apparatus, methods andsystems for responding to an attacker, or potential attacker, at a site(public or private) where people are gathered, including identifying,neutralizing, and restraining the attacker. In some embodiments, theattacker is a shooter, or a potential shooter possessing a weapon.Embodiments may include arming and releasing an unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV), commonly referred to as a drone, to facilitate neutralizing andrestraining the attacker.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a system is provided forresponding to a shooter, including an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), ashielded UAV housing, and a central control unit (CCU). The CCU includesa CCU processor and associated CCU memory storage. The CCU memorystorage stores CCU instructions that when executed by the CCU implementsteps of receiving audio signals indicative of gun fire and responsivelydetermining an origin of the gun fire; receiving an image including theorigin of the gun fire and responsively acquiring identifying featuresof a shooter associated with the gun fire; and reacting to the gun fireby releasing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to engage the shooter. TheUAV includes a UAV microphone, a UAV camera, a UAV incapacitatingmechanism, a UAV processor and associated memory storage, the memorystorage comprising UAV instructions that when executed by the UAVprocessor implement steps including guiding the flight of the UAVtowards the shooter, according to the origin of the gun fire and theidentifying features of the shooter, and neutralizing the shooter byoperating the UAV incapacitating mechanism.

In some embodiments, the UAV may additionally include restraints andneutralizing the shooter may additionally include releasing therestraints in the vicinity of the neutralized shooter after operatingthe UAV incapacitating mechanism. The UAV may additionally include arestraint compartment to hold the restraints during flight untilreleasing the restraints. The system may additionally include a speakerand wherein releasing the restraints may additionally include issuinginstructions from the speaker to passersby to apply the restraints tothe shooter after releasing the restraints.

The system may additionally include one or more observation microphones,configured to receive the audio signals indicative of gun fire and totransmit the audio signals to the CCU, as well as one or moreobservation cameras, configured to transmit the image including theorigin of the gun fire to the CCU including the origin of the gun fire.

The system may additionally include a speaker for instructing theshooter to comply with instructions. Guiding the flight of the UAVtowards the shooter may include playing a recording through the UAVspeaker instructing the shooter to comply with instructions.

Guiding the UAV towards the shooter may include receiving from the CCUthe shooter identifying features and correlating the shooter identifyingfeatures to identifying features in one or more images acquired by theUAV camera.

The UAV may be housed and subsequently released from the shieldedhousing. The UAV may be released after the CCU determines that theshielded housing is not under direct fire, which may be determined byseveral means, such as determining from the audio signals a direction ofthe gun fire, or detecting gun fire hitting the shielded housing. TheUAV may be released responsively to receiving the audio signalsindicative of gun fire. The system may also include a weapons detector,and wherein releasing the UAV comprises releasing the UAV responsivelyto receiving signals from the weapons detector. The UAV incapacitatingmechanism may be a stun mechanism. The system may additionally include aflashing beam mechanism or aerosol mechanism for disorienting theshooter, or a speaker configured to play a loud, stunning sounddisorienting the shooter.

Guiding the UAV towards the shooter may include guiding the UAV towithin an operating range of the UAV incapacitating mechanism and/oropening a vent to permit the UAV to enter an enclosed area with theshooter. Guiding the UAV towards the shooter may include navigating theUAV towards the shooter according to a predefined map and may alsoinclude automatically locking a door of an enclosed area in which theshooter is located.

Reacting to the gun fire may also include: issuing an alert to one ormore first responders, which may include an indication of the origin ofthe gun fire and/or a live video feed of the shooter; issuing an alertto a human operator and subsequently providing video of the shooter tothe human operator; receiving one or more instructions for operating theUAV from the human operator; turning on emergency signage directingpassersby to safety; automatically opening a door of an enclosed area inorder to evacuate passersby; playing an audio message directingpassersby to safety.

There is further provided by embodiments of the present invention asystem for responding to a potential shooter in a secure area, which mayinclude an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a shielded UAV housing, and acentral control unit (CCU) may execute instructions to implement stepsincluding: receiving signals indicative of a weapon in the possession ofa target individual, receiving an image including the target individual;responsively acquiring identifying features of the target individual andreleasing the UAV from the shielded UAV housing to engage the targetindividual. The UAV may include a UAV incapacitating mechanism and mayexecute instructions to implement steps including guiding the flight ofthe UAV towards the target individual and neutralizing the targetindividual by operating the UAV incapacitating mechanism. The stepsimplemented by the CCU processor may also include identifying featuresof the target individual to determine if the target individual isauthorized, and responsively not releasing the UAV. Identifying featuresof the target individual may include determining that the targetindividual is not authorized, and responsively taking one or moreactions of alerting guards, closing doors ahead of the targetindividual, and issuing a verbal warning for the person to lay on theground and to not touch his weapon. Signals indicative of a weapon mayindicate the presence of a concealed weapon.

There is further provided by embodiments of the present invention amethod of restraining a shooter in a secure area, including: receivingaudio signals indicative of gun fire; responsively determining an originof the gun fire; receiving an image including the origin of the gun fireand responsively acquiring identifying features of a shooter associatedwith the gun fire; releasing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to engagethe shooter; guiding the flight of the UAV towards the shooter,according to the origin of the gun fire and the identifying features ofthe shooter; and neutralizing the shooter by operating a UAVincapacitating mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of various embodiments of the invention andto show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now bemade, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings. Structuraldetails of the invention are shown to provide a fundamentalunderstanding of the invention, the description, taken with thedrawings, making apparent to those skilled in the art how the severalforms of the invention may be embodied in practice. In the accompanyingdrawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a system for responding to ashooter, according to some embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method for responding to a shooter,according to some embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood that the invention and its application are notlimited to the methods and systems described below or to the arrangementof the components set forth or illustrated in the drawings, but areapplicable to other embodiments that may be practiced or carried out invarious ways.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a system 20 for responding to ashooter in any location where people may gather, according to someembodiments of the present invention. The location may be any private orpublic site, such as a private residence, or a public location, such asa restaurant, meeting hall, auditorium, classroom or lounge; or anoutdoor location, such as a courtyard, park, or outdoor café. Inembodiments of the present invention, a central control unit (“CCU”) 25is installed to communicate with, and to control, other elements of thesystem. Hereinbelow, any location secured by system 20 is referred to asa secure area. The CCU 25 includes one or more CCU processors andstorage memory that includes instructions to processes input from theother elements of the system and to generate signals to control thoseelements. Communications between elements of the system may be wired orwireless, and may be encrypted to prevent hacking by sophisticatedattackers.

Installed in the immediate vicinity of the secure area are one or moreobservation microphones 30 and one or more observation cameras 35, whichcommunicate respective audio and video signals to the CCU 25 (i.e., tothe one or more processors of the CCU). Both the observation microphonesand the observation cameras are typically located positions with aline-of-sight orientation towards the secure area. That is, each of theone or more microphones 30 typically has an unblocked line-of-siteorientation to at least a part of the secure area, such that it canreceive a direct sound wave from a gunshot before receiving echo waves,and such that all of the microphones together provide complete, directcoverage of the secure area. Similarly, each of the one or more cameras35 typically has an unblocked view of all least a part of the securearea, such that all of the cameras together provide complete coverage ofthe secure area. The one or more observation microphones 30 and the oneor more observation cameras 35 may be affixed to permanent fixtures,such as polls or walls in the secure area. Additionally oralternatively, one or more of the observation microphones 30 and/orcameras 35 may be installed on one or more observation drones thatpatrol the secure area while in flight.

In some embodiments, operating parameters of the observation microphones30 and the observation cameras 35, such as focus and orientation, may becontrolled by the CCU 25. Audio and video signals from the respectivemicrophones and cameras may be transmitted continuously to the CCU 25,which processes the signals as described further hereinbelow.Alternatively, the observation microphones 30 and the observationcameras 35 may be programmed to send signals to the CCU 25 in responseto identifying respective audio and video signals that meet predefinedcriteria. For example, the observation microphones 30 may be configuredto transmit audio signals when the signals surpass a certain volumethreshold or when a sound is identified as a gunshot. Similarly, theobservation cameras 35 may be configured with motion sensors to sendsignals only when there is visible motion surpassing a certainthreshold.

In some embodiments, the observation microphones 30 and observationcameras 35 may be located in an enclosed area 40, such as a classroom orpub. Entrance to the enclosed area may be made through of at least onesecure door 42, as described further hereinbelow. Hereinbelow, theobservation microphones and cameras are differentiated from microphonesand cameras installed on an unmanned aerial vehicle configured torespond to a shooting attack, as described further hereinbelow.

Walls, doors, and/or windows of the secure area may also be configuredwith secure vents 44 that may be configured to open upon receiving asignal from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 50 or from the CCU 25, inorder to allow the UAV to pass into a closed location, such as theenclosed area 40 in which or from which a shooter is firing a firearm.The system may also include weapons detectors, such as metal detectorsand radar (such as Hexware™ technology), which may also detect concealedweapons, such as firearms or explosives.

System 20 typically includes at least one UAV 50, also referred toherein as a drone.

The UAV 50 is typically housed, until released, in a UAV housing 52,which may be a bullet-proof compartment to prevent destruction by gunfire. Upon determining, based on signals received by the observationmicrophones and/or cameras and/or the weapons detectors, that someonehas a firearm or is firing a firearm, the CCU 25 may activate the UAV 50to respond to the threat, causing the UAV 50 to begin flight, whilesimultaneously opening a door of the UAV housing 52, thereby releasingthe UAV 50 to respond to the threat. The UAV housing may be configuredwith the door on the bottom of the housing, that is, as the floor of thehousing, allowing the UAV to drop out of the housing, thereby leavingthe housing with the acceleration of gravity. In system that includemore than one UAV, multiple UAVs may be housed in a single housing.System 20 may also include multiple housings, each one containing one ormore UAVs.

Upon determining presence of gun fire, according to the gun fire audiosounds, and/or upon determining, based on imaging or weapons detection,a shooter to target (the targeted shooter also being referred to hereinas the “target”), the CCU 25 may also send a notice to one or more humanoperators 54 who may be involved in subsequent manual or semi-automatedcontrol of the UAV 50. The human operators may be situated at a remotelocation. The CCU may send a live video feed to computer stations or tomobile devices of the human operators, enabling the human operators tosee the secure area from the perspective of any of the UAV orobservation cameras, while also hearing the audio from any of the UAV orobservation microphones. Alternatively or additionally, upon receivingsignals from weapons detection equipment identifying someone carrying afirearm (concealed or not), i.e., upon identifying a potential shooter,the CCU 25 may send a notice and/or video feed to human operators. TheCCU may be configured to send an alert without operating the UAV 50,providing the human operators with control over release of the UAV, thatis, activating the UAV (and open the UAV housing) remotely. In otherwords, identification of a potential shooter may put human operators ona state of alert. The CCU may also include a machine intelligencerecognition engine trained to visually recognize authorized personnelwho may be carrying firearms and do not pose a threat. The machineintelligence recognition engine may utilize facial recognition and/orother identifying characteristics of personnel, such as identifying tagsor uniforms. When an authorized person is identified by the CCU, analert regarding a firearm or weapon is typically not issued, or, if thealert was issued, it may be subsequently cancelled automatically by theCCU.

The CCU may also send out alert notices to others, in addition to thehuman operators, for example sending signals to alarm systems 56 tonotify security staff (e.g., “first responders”) to come to the site.Alerts may also notify the general public to flee. The notification tosecurity staff may include the location of the origin of the gun fire.The CCU may also lock or open the secure access doors 42 (for example,locking a door to trap a shooter in a room, or opening a door forbystanders to flee or for first responders to enter the area).Additionally or alternatively, the CCU may turn on emergency notices onelectric signage 58, warning passersby of the threat and/or directingthem to safety.

The UAV 50 is typically a multi-rotor platform with secure wirelesscommunications capabilities, a maximum flight speed of at least 50 km/h,a diameter of less than 1 meter, and a lift capacity of at least 3kilograms. UAVs with such capabilities are currently commerciallyavailable; examples include the THOR™ vertical takeoff and landing(VTOL) Mini Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) from Elbit Systems.

The UAV 50 is typically equipped with a UAV microphone 60, and a UAVcamera 62. The UAV 50 is typically released after receiving location andshooter identifying data from the CCU 25, based on signals received fromthe observation microphones and cameras. After release, the UAV 50 maycontinue to receive, from the CCU 25, updated location and shooteridentifying data (e.g., identifying features, as described below).Alternatively or additionally, a UAV processor 64, with which the UAV 50is typically equipped, may process audio signals from the UAV microphone60 as well video signals from the UAV camera 62 to update location andshooter identifying data and to control the flight of the UAV 50 towardsthe target. The UAV processor 64 may also control standard processing,flight, and communications functions of the UAV 50.

In embodiments of the present invention, the UAV 50 is also equippedwith one or more mechanisms for stunning or otherwise incapacitating aperson, such as a stunner 70. Stunner 70 may be a taser device, such asa TASER™ stun product made by Axon Enterprise, which typically fires apair of wired, barbed electrodes at a target and then proceeds todeliver rapid, high voltage charges to the target. The typical range ofsuch a stun device is 1 to 10 meters.

The stunner affects the sensory and motor functions of the nervoussystem of the shooter and inhibits muscular control, typically for atleast 30 seconds, thereby incapacitating the shooter. Stunner 70 mayinclude multiple stun cartridges (for example, two to four) to stunmultiple targets, that is, multiple shooters at the same location. Thestunner may also include a light source that generates a beam toindicate where on the body of the target the stunner electrodes willhit.

Alternatively or additionally, the UAV 50 may be equipped with otherincapacitating mechanisms, that is, other means of causing a shooter tolose muscular control. For example, the UAV 50 may also be equipped withmeans of disorienting a shooter, such as a high-power, visible flashbeam generator 72, or an aerosol sprayer 74, for ejecting incapacitatingsprays, such as pepper spray.

The UAV 50 may also include one or more speakers 76 (i.e., aloudspeaker), configured to play a loud, stunning sound for disorientingthe shooter. Speakers 76 may also be configured to make audioannouncements to the target and/or to passersby. For example, beforestunning a target, the UAV 50 may play a preset recording that warns thetarget that he will be “tased” unless he complies with instructions, forexample, to put down all firearms and to lie down. Alternatively oradditionally, the UAV 50 may broadcast audio instructions from a humanoperator. Audio announcements to the target may also be made as loud,disorienting commands (e.g., “LAY DOWN THE WEAPON! LIE DOWN!”). Alsoalternatively or additionally to being affixed to the UAV, the speaker72 may positioned in and/or around the secure area, and may be adistributed speaker system of multiple speakers, such that audioannouncements and alerts made through the speaker system can be heard inthe secure area. Announcements may be made to passersby, directing themto safety, or assisting in restraining the shooter, as described furtherhereinbelow.

The UAV processor 64 may be configured to visually identify whether ashooter has complied and laid down his weapon; alternatively, video maybe provided to the human operator 54 who may make a determination ofcompliance. The UAV processor 64 may be configured to automaticallyrelease a taser shot or other mechanism to incapacitate the target,typically after a determination of non-compliance. Additionally oralternatively, the UAV processor 64 may be configured to receive asignal from the human operator 54 to release the incapacitatingmechanism to incapacitate the target.

The UAV 50 may also be equipped with restraints 78. Hereinbelow, theterm “restraints” refers to any means for restraining limbs of a humanbeing, including handcuffs, plastic and metal wrist and anklerestraints, as well as appropriate types of tape and zip ties. Therestraints are housed in a restraint compartment 80 of the UAV. Therestraint compartment typically has a door or latch which is configuredto release the restraints upon receiving a signal from the UAV processor64, typically provided after determining that the target has beenincapacitated.

The UAV processor 64 may also be configured with map data of a site,stored in storage memory of the UAV processor 64. For example, a UAV 50may provide security for a school campus with multiple classrooms. Ashooting incident in one classroom may trigger release of the UAV 50from a different location on the school campus. Based on the map data,the UAV may navigate to the origin of the gun fire. The map data mayalso be learned by a machine learning capability of the UAV processor64, based on flying the UAV around the campus or facility duringtraining sessions. The UAV processor may also include location sensors,such as a GPS sensor to receive signals from indoor GPS signalgenerators, or by other methods of determining location known in theart. The UAV may also be equipped with a radar sensor 82 or otherdistance sensor for identifying obstacles in its path and for enablingthe UAV to navigate to avoid such obstacles.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method 200 for responding to a shooter,according to some embodiments of the present invention. Most steps ofmethod 200 may be automated by implementation of the steps by theelements of the system 20 described above.

At a step 204, gun fire is sensed by the one or more observationmicrophones 30. As described above, the observation microphone(s) mayprocess the audio signals to identify the gun fire, or may transmit theaudio to the CCU which processes the signals and identifies the gunfire. Signals received by multiple microphones may be employed totriangulate the sounds to identify an origin of the shooting (step 206),that is, the point from which the gun fire is emanating. In furtherembodiments, movement of a shooter, as well as a direction of munitionsfire may also be identified by sound processing algorithms known in theart. In particular, the CCU may be configured to identify location anddirection parameters of the shooting based on processing supersonicblasts that may be identified as gun fire. Additionally oralternatively, subsonic shots may be identified by similar soundprocessing algorithms.

Upon identifying gun fire, the CCU 25 will typically issue alerts at astep 208. The alerts may include notifications both to the alarm systems56 and to the human operator 54, described above. At step 208, orsubsequently, the CCU may also lock or open the secure access doors 42,that is, locking a door to trap a shooter in a room, or opening a doorfor bystanders to flee or for first responders to enter the secure area.The CCU may also turn on emergency notices on electric signage 58,warning passersby of the threat and directing them to safety.

After identifying a location of the shooter, the CCU 25 may receivevideo signals (including one or more images) from the observationcameras at a step 210, while at least one of the observation cameras isoriented to acquire an image including the point of origin of the gunfire. Processing of the video signals (step 210) provides identifyingvisual features of the shooter, or shooters (step 212), at the gun firepoint of origin. Additional image processing algorithms may be employedto confirm the identity of the shooter as someone holding and/or firinga firearm.

The shooter identifying data, including identifying visual features ofthe shooter, enables the system to subsequently track the shooteraccording to that identifying data, even if the shooter moves and stopsthe shooting (which would prevent updating of the shooter location byaudio analysis). Identifying visual features are features selected torecognize facial features and other body features of the shooter, asdetermining by object recognition algorithms known in the art.

The CCU 25 transmits the location and identifying data (e.g., imagefeatures) to the UAV 50, while continuing to track the shooter'smovement, so as to provide updated information to the UAV 50. Aftertransmitting initial data, the CCU 25 also releases the UAV 50 from theUAV housing 52, at a step 214.

The UAV housing 52 may be configured with a housing processor andmicrophone or pressure sensor, to recognize gun fire air pressuresignals indicating when gun fire is directed towards the housing (oractually hitting the housing), and to delay releasing the UAV so thatthe UAV is not damaged by direct gun fire. Alternatively, the CCU maydetermine the direction of the gunfire, that is, the direction in whichthe bullets or other projectiles are being shot, by processing the gunfire audio signals (for example, by triangulation), and may release theUAV only if the direction of gun fire does not indicate that the UAVhousing is in the line of fire.

Upon being released, the UAV 50 may continue communicating with thehuman operator 54, providing a direct video feed of the scene whilereceiving instructions from the human operator (step 216).

The UAV processor 64 may be configured to operate the UAV automatically,flying the UAV in the direction of the gun fire origin in order toengage the shooter (i.e., to confront the shooter, play a warningmessage, stun and/or disorient the shooter, etc.). The UAV processor mayalso receive video from the UAV camera 62 to visually identify and tocontinue tracking the target(s) as the target moves (step 218). An imageprocessing algorithm of the UAV processor may be configured to correlatethe shooter identifying features received from the CCU 25 to identifyingfeatures in one or more images in the video received from the UAVcamera.

In a situation involving multiple shooters, the UAV processor 64 maydetermine an order of engaging the shooters, based on pre-configurationof a selection algorithm. The selection algorithm may considerparameters such as distance to shooter, gunfire frequency, gun and/orprojectile types, as well as parameters of the secure area, such astypical distribution of passersby. The selection algorithm may bedeveloped by a machine learning process to optimize selection tominimize victim injury.

The UAV may also be operated manually, allowing a human operator tonavigate the flight. Semi-autonomous flight may also be performed,whereby a direction of flight is specified by a human operator, butnavigation, as well as avoidance of hazards, may be controlled by theUAV processor 64. When flown automatically, the UAV 50, at a step 220,flies towards the target until within a range of taser effectiveoperation (or within the range of alternative means of incapacitatingthe target). The UAV may also be configured to hover within an effectivetaser range of the target.

When the UAV is in range of the target, an audio announcement(pre-recorded or issued by a human operator) may be issued from the UAVspeaker to the target, demanding compliance and laying down of weapons(step 222). A determination that the target has complied may be madeautomatically by machine vision image processing of the scene or by thehuman operator.

The stunner 70 or other incapacitating mechanism may be triggered by theUAV processor 64, typically after determining that the target has notcomplied with instructions (step 224). If there are multiple shooterswithin range, the UAV may fire multiple incapacitating mechanismssimultaneously, such as multiple tasers.

A determination may then be made that the target has been incapacitated.The determination may be made automatically by machine vision imageprocessing of the scene (step 226). The processing may be performedeither by the UAV processor 64, or may be performed by an externalprocessor, such as the CCU (i.e., the processor of the CCU).Alternatively, the human operator may determine from a video feed and/orindividual images received from the UAV and/or observation cameras thatthe target has been incapacitate.

At a step 228, the UAV processor 64 may operate the restraintcompartment 80 to release the restraints 78 in the vicinity of thetarget. Release of the restraints is typically performed afterdetermining that the target has been incapacitated. If the determinationof incapacitation is made by the external processor or by the humanoperator, the UAV processor receives from these external elements asignal indicative of the determination and thereupon releases therestraints.

Subsequently, at a step 230, the UAV processor may play an audio messageover the UAV speaker, the audio message being pre-recorded or broadcastby the human operator. The audio message notifies passersby that thetarget is incapacitated and disarmed momentarily and that they may applythe restraints to the target in order to prevent further attack afterthe neurological effects of the stunner have subsided. By applyingrestraints, non-professionals in the vicinity of the shooter may ensurethat the shooter remains neutralized (i.e., incapable of action) even ifthe arrival of first responder security personnel is delayed. Ifrestraints are not applied within a short period of time, the shooter'smuscular control may be restored, enabling the shooter to renew hisattack. Audio messages may also be directed towards passersby, directingthem to safety (e.g., providing directions for escaping the scene).

If the target has not been neutralized, or there are other shooters, theprocess continues, as the UAV flies towards the target (step 220).

It is to be understood that all elements of the system 20 may beprovided in multiples, that is, the system 20 may include multiple CCUs25, each controlling one or more UAVs 50, each UAV 50 having one or moreof each of the microphones, cameras, processors, stunners, speakers,flash beams, restraints, restraint compartments, and radar units, aswell as additional accessories for engaging targets, such as aerosoldevices.

Computational aspects of the process 200 and of the system 20 may beimplemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware,embedded firmware, software, or in combinations thereof. All or part ofthe process may be implemented as a computer program product, tangiblyembodied in an information carrier, such as a machine-readable storagedevice or in a propagated signal, for execution by, or to control theoperation of, data processing apparatus, such as a programmableprocessor, computer, or deployed to be executed on multiple computers atone site, or distributed across multiple sites, or in a cloudconfiguration. Memory storage may also include multiple distributedmemory units, including one or more types of storage media. A computingsystem configured to implement the system may have one or moreprocessors and one or more network interface modules. Processors may beconfigured as a multi-processing or distributed processing system.Network interface modules may control the sending and receiving of datapackets over networks.

It is to be understood that the scope of the present invention includesvariations and modifications thereof which would occur to personsskilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description and which arenot disclosed in the prior art.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system for responding to a shooter,comprising: an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); a shielded UAV housing; acentral control unit (CCU) having a CCU processor and associatednon-transitory CCU memory storage, the CCU memory storage comprising CCUinstructions that when executed by the CCU processor implement stepscomprising: receiving signals indicative of gun fire and responsivelydetermining an origin of the gun fire; receiving an image including theorigin of the gun fire and responsively acquiring identifying featuresof a shooter associated with the gun fire; and reacting to the gun fireby releasing the UAV from the shielded UAV housing to engage theshooter, after the CCU determines that the shielded housing is not underdirect fire; wherein the UAV comprises a UAV incapacitating mechanism, aUAV processor and associated memory storage, the memory storagecomprising UAV instructions that when executed by the UAV processorimplement steps comprising guiding the flight of the UAV towards theshooter, according to the origin of the gun fire and the identifyingfeatures of the shooter, and neutralizing the shooter by operating theUAV incapacitating mechanism.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the UAVfurther comprises restraints and wherein neutralizing the shooterfurther comprises releasing the restraints in the vicinity of theneutralized shooter after operating the UAV incapacitating mechanism. 3.The system of claim 2, wherein the UAV further comprises a restraintcompartment to hold the restraints during flight until releasing therestraints.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein the system furthercomprises a speaker and wherein releasing the restraints furthercomprises issuing instructions from the speaker to passersby to applythe restraints to the shooter after releasing the restraints.
 5. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein releasing the restraints comprises releasingthe restraints after determining that the shooter is incapacitated. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein the signals indicative of gun fire areaudio signals, and wherein the system further comprises one or moreobservation microphones, configured to receive the audio signals and totransmit the audio signals to the CCU.
 7. The system of claim 1, whereinthe system further comprises one or more observation cameras, configuredto transmit the image including the origin of the gun fire to the CCUincluding the origin of the gun fire.
 8. The system of claim 1, whereinthe system further comprises a speaker for instructing the shooter tocomply with instructions.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the UAVfurther comprises a UAV speaker, and wherein guiding the flight of theUAV towards the shooter comprises playing a recording through the UAVspeaker instructing the shooter to comply with instructions.
 10. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the UAV further comprises a UAV camera, andguiding the UAV towards the shooter comprises receiving from the CCU theshooter identifying features and correlating the shooter identifyingfeatures to identifying features in one or more images acquired by theUAV camera.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein determining that theshielded housing is not under direct fire comprises determining fromaudio signals a direction of the gun fire.
 12. The system of claim 1,wherein shielded housing further comprises a pressure sensor detectinggun fire hitting the housing.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein thesystem further comprises a weapons detector, and wherein releasing theUAV comprises releasing the UAV responsively to receiving signals fromthe weapons detector.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the UAVincapacitating mechanism is a stun mechanism.
 15. The system of claim 1,wherein the UAV further comprises a speaker configured to play a loud,stunning sound for disorienting the shooter.
 16. The system of claim 1,wherein the UAV further comprises a flashing beam mechanism fordisorienting the shooter.
 17. The system of claim 1, wherein the UAVfurther comprises an aerosol mechanism for disorienting the shooter. 18.The system of claim 1, wherein guiding the UAV towards the shootercomprises guiding the UAV to within an operating range of the UAVincapacitating mechanism.
 19. The system of claim 1, wherein guiding theUAV towards the shooter comprises opening a vent to permit the UAV toenter an enclosed area with the shooter.
 20. The system of claim 1,wherein guiding the UAV towards the shooter comprises navigating the UAVtowards the shooter according to a predefined map.
 21. The system ofclaim 1, wherein reacting to the gun fire further comprisesautomatically locking a door of an enclosed area in which the shooter islocated.
 22. The system of claim 1, wherein reacting to the gun firefurther comprises automatically opening a door of an enclosed area inorder to evacuate passersby.
 23. The system of claim 1, wherein reactingto the gun fire further comprises playing an audio message directingpassersby to safety.
 24. The system of claim 1, wherein reacting to thegun fire further comprises turning on emergency signage directingpassersby to safety.
 25. The system of claim 1, wherein reacting to thegun fire further comprises issuing an alert to one or more firstresponders.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein the alert to the one ormore first responders includes a location indicating the origin of thegun fire.
 27. The system of claim 25, wherein the alert to a humanoperator includes a live video feed of the shooter.
 28. The system ofclaim 1, wherein reacting to the gun fire further comprises receivingone or more instructions for operating the UAV from a human operator.29. A system for responding to a shooter, comprising: an unmanned aerialvehicle (UAV); a shielded UAV housing; a central control unit (CCU)having a CCU processor and associated non-transitory CCU memory storage,the CCU memory storage comprising CCU instructions that when executed bythe CCU processor implement steps comprising: receiving signalsindicative of gun fire and responsively determining an origin of the gunfire; receiving an image including the origin of the gun fire andresponsively acquiring identifying features of a shooter associated withthe gun fire; and reacting to the gun fire by releasing the UAV from theshielded UAV housing to engage the shooter; wherein the UAV comprises aUAV incapacitating mechanism, a UAV processor and associated memorystorage, the memory storage comprising UAV instructions that whenexecuted by the UAV processor implement steps comprising guiding theflight of the UAV towards the shooter, according to the origin of thegun fire and the identifying features of the shooter, and neutralizingthe shooter by operating the UAV incapacitating mechanism, and whereinthe UAV further comprises a restraint compartment to hold the restraintsduring flight until releasing the restraints.
 30. The system of claim29, wherein the UAV incapacitating mechanism is a stun mechanism. 31.The system of claim 29, wherein the UAV further comprises a flashingbeam mechanism for disorienting the shooter.
 32. A system for respondingto a shooter, comprising: an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); a shieldedUAV housing; a central control unit (CCU) having a CCU processor andassociated non-transitory CCU memory storage, the CCU memory storagecomprising CCU instructions that when executed by the CCU processorimplement steps comprising: receiving signals indicative of gun fire andresponsively determining an origin of the gun fire; receiving an imageincluding the origin of the gun fire and responsively acquiringidentifying features of a shooter associated with the gun fire; andreacting to the gun fire by releasing the UAV from the shielded UAVhousing to engage the shooter; wherein the UAV comprises a UAVincapacitating mechanism, a UAV processor and associated memory storage,the memory storage comprising UAV instructions that when executed by theUAV processor implement steps comprising guiding the flight of the UAVtowards the shooter including opening a vent to permit the UAV to enteran enclosed area with the shooter, according to the origin of the gunfire and the identifying features of the shooter, and neutralizing theshooter by operating the UAV incapacitating mechanism.
 33. The system ofclaim 32, wherein the UAV incapacitating mechanism is a stun mechanism.34. The system of claim 32, wherein the UAV further comprises a flashingbeam.